Stay energized throughout the day by feeding your ‘fire’.

Ever go camping and wait until the fire is nearly out before putting on another log? Ridiculous. It just smolders and smokes a whole lot, but doesn’t catch fire. You sit there, frustrated, wishing you had not waited so long. Your body is the same: waiting until you’re really hungry and going hours without food, will cause your metabolism to extinguish rather than keep your fire burning with a constant glow. Instead, keep your flame burning bright with healthy snacks! You will avoid the lows and curb the temptation to binge on those irresistible, high-sugar, high-fat holiday treats.

Apple slices with almond butter? Yes please!

Here are some easy snack ideas to get you going:

Apple slices dipped in almond butter or sprinkled with cinnamon and chia seeds

Did you know that you CAN exercise while pregnant, even if you haven’t really been that active prior to pregnancy? We just have to ADJUST what you will be doing.

Important factors to keep in mind while exercising:✔️ check your intensity – target heart rate zones should be on your radar✔️ your intensity should be somewhat hard✔️ you should be able to carry on a conversation throughout your workout.

?Remember: do NOT do Valsalva manoeuvre (holding your breath while you are exerting yourself ie, lifting a box off the floor) as it can increase your blood pressure and increase your chances of non-functional diastasis recti. Instead, exhale on exertion and inhale on relaxation.

‼️Important! You are not training for a competition, YOU ARE WORKING OUT TO MAINTAIN YOUR FITNESS LEVEL.

Working out during pregnancy will help you during your labour and delivery, but it has also been shown to have positive effects on your baby and their APGAR scores!

So you’ve gone and hurt yourself, huh? You’re a gung-ho weekend warrior with a twinge in your back and aren’t sure what to do about it. This isn’t unusual.

We get all kinds of people coming through our doors who’ve injured themselves in brilliant and creative ways.

As I sit here compiling this literary masterpiece, a client walks in with back spasms that are causing him visible discomfort. “How’d that happen?” I say. “I was choking on some long grain rice and coughed so violently that I threw my back out” he replies. Believe me when I say we’ve seen and heard it all. You may find yourself asking “What kind of treatment am I supposed to get?” With all the various types of sprains and strains you may be unlucky enough to receive, where to start can be an overwhelming decision. Here are a few things to consider:

“Yer aff yer heid!”

1.What is your level of pain?

If you’ve got a full-scale broken back, you’re going to want the emergency room and not deep tissue massage. An honest evaluation of the pain you are in/damage you have done is important at this stage. Open wound? Hospital. Arm dangling at a weird angle where you KNOW there isn’t a joint? Hospital. Tightness in the lower back after trying the caber toss for the first time? Whole Therapy! While our therapists are often told that they have magic hands, they cannot perform lifesaving surgeries or repair broken bones. We’ve had people come in to see us that could barely move let alone stand being touched or physically manipulated in any way. Not being a hero at this point and seeking medical attention is best. On the reverse side of the coin, going and waiting in an ER for 10 hours only to have a Dr. tell you to see a physiotherapist isn’t a lot of fun either.

It can be tricky sometimes to gauge the type of potential damage that may have been done after you landed on your back in the middle of the Rideau Canal whilst distracted by that delicious Beaver Tail in your hands. We get that. While it’s always best to err on the side of caution, be realistic. The hospital staff won’t thank you either for taking up their time with a minor scrape or the proverbial bobo.

Now that you’ve determined you don’t require immediate medical attention, you’re looking for some pain relief, rehabilitation, and a plan of action for your recovery. The next step is to..

2. Consider the type of injury.

Chances are, if you’ve rolled your ankle you’re going to want a more rehabilitative and active treatment; most likely a visit with our physiotherapist, or our chiropractors. If you feel the situation is more muscle or tissue related, you could also consider our team of massage therapists.

One of the great things about our multi-disciplinary approach is how perfectly our services complement each other. We often have clients come in for “the double”. This usually consists of a massage treatment to soften you up followed by a chiropractic adjustment to straighten you out! We also double up on the physio and acupuncture fairly often. Perhaps the most effective combination of all though, is the combination of our minds. Each practitioner here will view things in a slightly different way as their training and expertise dictates. It’s common practice amongst them to pick each other’s’ brains for answers to tricky questions involving your rehabilitation. It’s this collaboration upon which the Whole Therapy philosophy is based.

3. What can I afford?

Another thing to consider when booking an appointment is your insurance coverage. Many of you will have private insurance that allows for some spending on different types of clinical services. Maybe you’ve got coverage for physiotherapy but not chiropractic. Perhaps it’s the other way around. Perhaps you’ve only got coverage for one type of service or perhaps you’ve got everything under the sun covered. It’s worth finding out before you call in so that we can better serve your budget AND your needs. That being said, sometimes your maintenance program will continue after your benefits have expired. Don’t worry. We want to see you as little as possible but as much as necessary. That means finding out together what a maintenance plan looks like for you. The initial treatment and following few appointments will likely be closer together, but as you progress from injured to pain-free to functional, the frequency with which you attend will likely decrease. Benefits are wonderful in that they can mitigate the cost of rehab, but they should not dictate the extent of your rehab. Consider this.

So don’t worry. Hurting yourself happens, whether it be from coughing up rice, tossing around cabers, or falling while skating. We’ve seen it all, remember?

Hopefully this information helps you figure out where to start. If you’re still stumped, give me a call. We can figure out together how to get the ball rolling.

Pat Moore is the office manager at Whole Therapy. Pat works alongside a team of dedicated professionals and is here to help ensure that your visit at Whole Therapy is as pleasant as possible. For more about Pat, click here!

At Whole Therapy, we believe that two heads are better than one. Our team works together to help people: It’s simple.
Because one therapy is not always the one for everyone. We know that every body is different, and everyone has different goals, preferences, and timelines when it comes to their health and their bodies.